Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2024 Executive Brief
Learn how to identify and address health technology hazards in your facilities
ECRI's Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2024 list identifies the potential sources of danger we believe warrant the greatest attention this year and offers practical recommendations for reducing risks. Since its creation in 2008, this list has supported hospitals, health systems, ambulatory surgery centers, and manufacturers in addressing risks that can impact patients and staff. New for this year, our executive brief includes specific calls to action for the industry.
Overview
The 2024 list features many first-time topics, including several that build upon the key theme from our 2023 list—the need to build stronger and more resilient processes and leverage innovations.
The number one topic addresses what has become a critical challenge—design shortcomings in home-use devices. When a device is developed, it's critical that human factors and the end user be considered to prevent misuse and harm. However, home-use devices are often not designed with the lay user in mind, and home users generally lack expertise in their use.
The list includes critical issues with medical devices that can impact public health, as well as how insufficient governance of artificial intelligence can impact patient safety. In addition, several topics on this year's list reflect new challenges resulting from changes and stressors on the healthcare industry:
- Improper IV drug compounding
- Improper cleaning of medical devices
- Burns from single-foil electrosurgical return electrodes